Part-I of this three series blog described a whole lot about construction and the history of various materials used for constructing buildings. Most importantly it described two major components used for constructing buildings and also a comparison between them which were stone and bricks. Stones, in fact, as described in the first blog has been currently replaced by bricks. Although stone masonry had its advantages, what made it less preferred in the construction of buildings is the complex work involved in crafting structures using it, but we have to admit that the buildings and monuments crafted using stones surely gives a unique aesthetic beauty and appeal.

We see structures going up everyday, but do we realize the effort behind it. Construction requires great commitment, resources and technical skills. When it comes to resources, we are familiar with the construction materials such as Bricks, Concrete, Reinforced steel and such. When we look at the history of the construction, we have come a long way from using stones to bricks to different variations of bricks. In any construction, the most needed component apart from concrete and steel are bricks, obviously.

Summer season is all over us. The temperatures are soaring high all across India, marking the arrival of the summer season in full force. The temperature has crossed 40°C in many areas. Also similar to the rising temperature, another thing that is also rising is the construction of buildings. As we know excessive heat is not good for the people involved in the construction, well it is the same case for the buildings. More specifically, the setting of concrete.

It’s summer again, the hottest season of the entire year has come. In a country like India, the summers can get quite hot, therefore to escape the heat, we use a variety of measures for cooling our homes. For that, we purchase air conditioners and coolers, but the irony is that the money we spent on these items to cool down our homes makes the world a much hotter place to live. The reason for this is the chemical by-products that are produced from the appliances which increase the temperature. So, what can be an effective way to cool down this summer.

Constructing buildings is not an easy task, It requires a lot of resources, technical skills, dedication and commitment. When we talk about the resources, the most vital components for constructing buildings are reinforced steel and concrete. Reinforced steel is primarily known for its excellent strength and ductility which provides the necessary strength to withstand the load of the structure. However, there are several factors that can affect the strength of the steel in such a way that it becomes extremely dangerous to the whole structure, and one such factor is rusting.

Concrete is the most vital material in the construction of buildings. There is no need for any sort of familiarization for us. It is right around us, buildings, roads, bridges, etc, all these structures are made with concrete. It is impossible to imagine a structure without concrete. The use of concrete has a long way back since ancient times. The arrival of concrete drastically changed the course of architecture in the world.

Building collapsing, explosions, all seems good and spectacular in movies, right? but not so in real life. Part-I of this blog explained about the dangers and consequences involved in collapsing of the building. The blog also described the reasons for various building collapse which were lack of maintenance and inefficient planning and design. Here we solely focus on the inefficiency and practices of the people involved in the construction process with a recent example.

Buildings collapsing is not something enjoyable to view and experience. The impacts created from these disasters create great physical and mental trauma that takes a big toll on our life. It gives us a lot to think about and improve but still, the event continues in different areas all over India. There are many instances where different cases on building collapses have been reported. The sad thing is that the responsible officials never learn or do anything effective even after repeated patterns of the same event.

The principal components in every construction of a building are concrete and reinforced steel. However, concrete is the pivotal component the construction begins with. Concrete is a composite of multiple items namely cement, water, sand and aggregates. The aggregates include limestone, gravel, crushed stone, slug etc. About 60 to 80% of the concrete mix is made of aggregates. They provide the required compressive strength and bulk to concrete.

ABOUT ME

I am 415, an expert on TMT bars, architectural integrity, and soil rigidity. My blogs are aimed at common man who are on the verge of building their home or who wants to know more about the construction industrious in general. Follow my blog to get a better understanding of building materials.